A week of Sydney swimming | Part Two

After an amazing start to my swimming journey in Sydney, I was keen to continue my adventures.

Sunday 17th September

After a morning working at the Sydney marathon as part of a team of event support staff (eight hours in the sunshine assisting the medical team with transporting injured and exhausted runners from the finish line to the med tent or nearby shade, and then from the med tent to the edge of the botanic garden), I was keen to get home and run into the sea. However, due to extreme delays on public transport, I didn’t make it back in time to swim before I had to get ready and leave again for my evening shift elsewhere. I imagined the relief of submerging myself in the water, disappointed that I couldn’t make it a reality today.

Monday 18th September

Two friends and I took the train south to Kiama to visit another friend. We spent the day in the sunshine, seeing Kiama’s coastal delights, and the afternoon on the beach, where we attempted a dip. The water was breaking very close to the shore and the pull was so strong. There were some very obvious rips, too. We stayed in the shallow, feeling refreshed even from a paddle. At one point, one of my friends was knocked over and swept up the shore by the water. Part of me was worried for her, but she took it with a reassuring smile on her face, so that all we could do was laugh. 

Tuesday 19th September

I went to Manly with some friends. I’d never been before but I had been keen to. It’s a lovely beach town with several spots to take a dip. Manly beach’s waves were huge, and we decided to walk a little further to Shelly Beach, where the water was so calm. After letting our sunscreen soak in on the sand and absorbing so much heat, we waded and dived into the water. We kept moving to stay warm in the cool water, and to get away from the jungles of seaweed we would occasionally find ourselves tangled in. We floated and chatted until we decided to make our way back onto the shore.

Wednesday 20th September

When I woke up, I decided to head straight to the beach. It was already 26 degrees, and I figured my best chance of getting a swim in at Coogee was first thing. The sand was even steeper than it had been days before. When a lifeguard asked me how my swim was as I dried off on the sand, he said it was because the swell hadn’t changed in a while, so all the sand had built up. He also acknowledged I’d come down at a good time. The space between the flags was small, and the rest of the water at the beach was looking dangerous. He said the tall waves that were between the flags are manageable for most people, and it would get pretty busy there as they day wore on. He advised that Gordon’s Bay or Clovelly would be very nice on a day like today, being a lot calmer. So I decided to head down that way in the afternoon.

Gordon’s bay was busy, but so scenic. I should have taken a snorkel down, even without one I could tell there was so much to see beneath the waters’ calm surface. I swam out, and did a large loop, diving and floating between strokes, feeling so happy and peaceful. On the way back in, I treaded water by a rock where I caught the movement of several crabs. One was black, scuttling in full view, managing to stay on the rock even when the waves swept right up. Several more were moving in tandem, sheltered by a shelf of rock above them, their white claws gleaming. 

Over my first week of Sydney swimming, I rediscovered how delightfully joyful I find swimming in the sea, and how fantastic it makes me feel. Like the sunsets here, no swim is ever the same.